Exploring their contributions to Dubai Design Week, Creative Director of ABWAB, Rawan Kashkoush, discusses with four curators of the ABWAB Pavilions [...]


The Atrium, Building 4, Dubai Design District (d3)

Exploring their contributions to Dubai Design Week, Creative Director of ABWAB, Rawan Kashkoush, discusses with four curators of the ABWAB Pavilions - Pakistan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - what it means for designers to consider concepts of preservation and interpretation of Heritage, Identity and Culture, through the use of games as tools to channel tradition and cultural nuance into contemporary society.

Speakers:

Salman Jawed
Soon after his graduation from IVSAA in 2008, Jawed co-founded Coalesce Design Studios, a house of multidisciplinary designers that go beyond form and function to interpret an intangible into a tangible built product.

He and his firm, Coalesce Design Studios are now pioneers of product/ industrial design in Pakistan, having created the entire niche market for it in the country. In this effort, Salman and his team focus on picking up indigenous materials and merge it with “worldly” design, having conceptualized and manufactured it entirely locally. He believes in exploring the idea of contrasts using a variety of techniques that focus on the multi-layering and collaboration of various materials; all this and more to celebrate the creation of unique furniture, light installations and bespoke products through the cohesion of antique pieces, indigenous craft and contemporary design.

Understanding that today’s design challenges often takes a blend of expertise and experience, Coalesce brings dynamic and young professionals to the table, including architects, brand strategists, planners, graphic designers, artists and craftsmen. Defined as “amalgamation,” Coalesce Design Studio was established in 2008 in Karachi, Pakistan and showcases work across the country and internationally.

Liyan Al Jabi | Arini Creative Platforms
Arini is a nonprofit private study and research institution that curates and promotes workshops and studies in the fields of: design, architecture and urbanism.
Founded in 2012 by three partners – Mohammad Aljabi, Heba Najada and Liyan Jabi – Arini seeks to expand the creative realm and advance the practice of architecture and urbanism beyond its traditional definition through workshops and studies of trans-disciplinary collaborations to bring forward live projects and publications that are reflected in the built environment and socio-economic life. Arini operates online as www.herskhazeen.com, an online magazine that curates architecture and design in the Arab World.

Liyan received her BA in architecture from the University of Jordan in 2009. From there, she explored several architectural and creative industries including architecture, spatial design and urbanism. Liyan is constantly exploring the notion of multidisciplinary design for social change through her work with marginalized societies in Jordan. Liyan spends her time on the hunt for what’s relevant and sought-after in contemporary architecture, design, urbanism, art, environment and pop culture through www.herskhazeen.com.

Basma Bouzo
Owner and Co-founder of Oasis Magazine and Saudi Design Week, Basma Bouzo has been directly involved in the progress of the art and design scene in Saudi Arabia. The University of Oxford graduate co-founded Oasis Magazine, the arts and culture magazine, based in Saudi Arabia and distributed throughout the region and internationally. As the Editor-at-Large of Oasis Magazine, she has created and curated multiple events that have added much needed value to the creative scene in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Design Week is the latest and most sought after annual event that Basma and Oasis have created giving the region a new hub for design and Saudi designers a louder voice and bigger stage to highlight their talent.

Waleed Shaalan
Waleed Shaalan is an architect, artist and storyteller. He has had a darkroom since the age of 9 and is passionate about photography and travel, having crossed Europe, Iran, South Africa Turkey the US and the Middle East on his motorcycle and writing travel articles along the way.
Waleed currently serves as Senior Vice President and Senior Projects Manager at United Real Estate Company Kuwait, previously performing the role of Design Principal at SSH Design (2009-2013) and Founder of Brainstorm Design Studio (1999-2009). He is multidisciplinary and collaborative in his approach, working with a number of entities such as Atelier Jean Nouvel and Clould 9 Barcelona. He has won a number of international design awards for his work such as the World Architecture Festival Award (Singapore 2012) for his design of the Junoot Eco Resort in Oman. Waleed regularly critiques student work at the Kuwait University Architecture School.
He believes in the importance of balancing discipline and freedom - Waleed took a year off in 1994 and lived in Antigua Guatemala where he worked as an assistant art director on the feature film Silenco De Neto and started a blues band called the Blu Dawgs. In addition to his career accomplishments he is one of the few people in his generation to have barely skipped a beat when it comes to dancing with this one - Waleed is active on a number of social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat with a formidable following.